How much money can you make off a $5 million investment. Ha! If everyone knew the answer to that they wouldn't call it speculation. But quite a bit would depend on how well you run your operation and the market price of weed. Weed has been legal in CA for almost 4 years. During that time the price of weed has dropped significantly. Supplies have skyrocketed and price has fallen. When the weed stores first opened here the cheapest 1/8 oz of weed was around $35 plus tax, today, the same store's cheapest 1/8 oz is $12.50 plus tax of similar quality (about 15-20% THC). However, some of the more potent strains are priced much higher! If you can grow 35%-40% THC nugs you might do better depending on demand. Also, since it's been made legal many people are growing it at home, in their garage, or back yard grows which not only increases supply but decreases demand sending prices even lower. They also sell concentrated THC at high prices, I don't know the profit margins on that stuff but if I was going to invest $5 Million, I would find out before putting in a penny. Invest $5 million? I would guess, if you maximize production and revenue and minimize costs you might get your investment back in 3-10 years.
Enough to never have had a credit card or taken a loan. Enough to pay for every single thing I own and owe nothing. Enough to raise my kids and care for my animals. Enough to live our lives as free human beings. My answer is if you live within your means and do it well is..........just enough.
Fair enough, certainly to me, true quality doesn't just equal the highest THC levels, however, the weed stores around here put a higher premium on flowers with higher THC levels. Usually it costs more if it has a higher THC level than flowers with lower levels, this is how the store determines it's value. I should have pointed out that pot with high CBD levels and low THC levels sell for premium prices too. I suspect that the reason for this is because there isn't as much demand for it, maybe fewer growers grow it and the supplies are more limited. So you are correct, a higher value doesn't really mean higher quality.
Yeah, we have tiered pricing too. And you’re right, it’s the super high THC and CBD strains that go for a premium. I’d also add anything that breaks the 4% terpene mark, that’s hard to achieve and difficult to find on shelves.
Another thing that I didn't mention is eatables. Cookies, candy, gummies, brownies, my local weed store has all that stuff too. They are marked on the bag how potent they are but even a bag of like 12 gummies can be kinda expensive. But I personally prefer the enjoyment of just smoking good bud and enjoying that good terpene taste.
Makes sense, weed with very low THC is really high quality. You really need to stop giving bad advice.
Growing and selling just flower isn't really the best idea due to demographics that don't prefer flower over other forms. Problem is extractors are quite a bit of money. And you'll be looking at ridiculous amounts for a molecular separator, if you choose to go that route.
I use Green Analytics in Ashland, VA (google the name will bring you to their website with instructions on what testing costs what, how much bud they need and how to ship it, etc). They have been a solid company, but the testing can get on the pricey side if for example you want to have you bud screened or otherwise certified if you need to prove quality to someone, that the buds are pesticide, herbicide free, no heavy metals, fentanyl, or other contaminants.) If all you want is like THC % and maybe also like a terp profile though, they are pretty reasonable, customer service was decent if you end up having any questions on the analysis, pricing etc. I usually send out a sample like every other grow, or if I get an exceptional high or taste off a crop, has really helped me decide on future strains to buy seeds and grow based off their expected terp profiles vs what I know I like. I mean, if I'm gonna put 5 months into a plant, I'd like it to be decent stuff, although that being said, its not like I've ever had a bad bud from mine or anyone I know personally who grows their own (maybe I'm a lucky minority in that experience, idk.) hope this helped
The interesting thing I've found, is THC% can vary IMMENSELY even on the same plant. Just last year I had some Gelato and some Bruce Banner tested. A cola top on the Gelato got up to 19% once, but some larf samples from the same plant turned out at only 15% (likely due to the larf not getting nearly as much light as the tops) The Bruce Banner (was my first grow for that strain, and my first time with autos) ended up at 24% for a top cola but closer to 20% for anything that wasn't a coke can sticking out of the canopy. Both my ranges were slightly lower than what places like leafly list as the "average THC%" for those strains, and although I'm sure that more skilled people could be pumping out some 30% bruce banner buds, I've become convinced that just like mileage estimates for new cars, listed THC% is very much dependent on optimal grow conditions. Then there is that whole other topic of trichome density being more important than raw THC% (or not, there are arguments on both sides). I've smoked dispensary weed listed at 14%, vs my home grown Gelato that also tested 14%, and I can tell you mine always gets me way higher, which anecdotally I attribute to the greater trichome density on my stuff. I'm sure there are some high end places out there, but I've never yet encountered store bought or medical weed this dense and frosty as what I grow. Thats "just 14% THC" bud above, but I've yet to meet anyone, even heavy daily users, who don't get a minimum of a pleasant high off just one bowl of this stuff because such a high % of the mass of each bowl is pure trich vs veg matter. Oh almost forgot, CBD wise, I was getting around 3-5% on both strains, actually more CDB % on the colas like THC, probably because they mature and amber more while I wait on the lower branches. I've been told 3-5% is pretty high for a non-CBD dominant strain, and I tend to cut pretty early (like 10%-20% amber on the colas, and the larf just is what it is when I cut the tops) so I'm curious if that was a fluke or not. Anyway, sorry for the long rant, its just rare that someone takes an interest in the specifics of THC% analysis. Also I just got off work for the day, ate lunch a smoked a bowl, so feeling more social than normal. I have another round of both Gelatos and Banners that should finish within the next 8 weeks, I'll be sure to post a copy of their lab report when I send some cuttings out. Hope this helped.
Oh, that's cool, thanks for explaining. I've been growing outside for several seasons but only outside grows because I don't have a place inside to set up a grow room at the moment. I've never done any testing of my buds, except by smoking it but I'm certain the bigger top colas have more THC than lower branch buds. I grow feminized seeds purchased from a seed bank and of course, some strains are always better than others. Even though I've grown for a few seasons, I still consider myself a rookie grower.
Commercial growers would make a LOAD more money from crop sales if they grew outdoors. The plants would be as big, and there would be way more air circulation
Imo 95% it depends on the grower, I reuse my compost, my dry plant food is so cheap it's nearly free, get the right balance between the amount of electricity vs the light/spread mean you can grow massive crops for a very low budget, imo I would grow more plants in a larger area and give the plants around 650 umols, makes things easy to control temps, every 1m x 1m floor space can yield 10-15 zips every 9 weeks, you will need a veg/dry room 1/4 of the size of the flower room and space to pot up and store food etc